Sales contests can bring a burst of energy and sales to your company, but if everyone knows that the top seller is going to get the best prize, it may not motivate everyone the way that you intended. With a few tweaks to the rules of the contest, you can create a sales contest that is fair to employees, giving everyone a chance to win. You'll find that all types of sales reps respond well to these contests.

Set prizes for everyone at incremental levels. Rather than giving out one prize at the end of the contest, you can give prizes to all sales reps who meet certain goals. For example, after 10 sales the employee might get an extra day off, but after 100 sales, he can go on a company-paid vacation.

Set goals and prizes as a group, rather than on an individual basis. Sales reps work together as a team to reach the company goal. If the team meets the goal, everyone reaps the benefits.

Give all employees a chance to win the big prize. When your contest has a big prize, the employees who don't normally sell a lot may not be motivated, thinking they have no chance at that price. Rather than giving the big prize to the top seller, give each employee one entry into a raffle for each sale he makes. Top sellers will have a greater chance of winning the prize, but the little guy still stands a chance.

Create alternative goals. It may seem natural to set a goal to sell your product, but other ways of measuring success can give your low-sellers a better chance of success. For example, you could base the contest on increased percentage of sales or customer satisfaction.

Give out items rather than cash. If cash or gift cards are the prize you're offering, employees will have to pay taxes on them. However, the employee does not have to pay taxes for gifts like tickets to an event, according to the Small Business Authority.